The League of Nations Flashcards
Aims of the League
Avoid aggression between nations
Facilitate disarmament
Improve living and working conditions globally
Enhance global co-operation through trade
How was the League structured
The assembly The council The League of Nations Commissions The permanent court of justice International Labour Organisation The secretariat
How the League maintained peace
Condemnation
Negotiation
Sanctions
Military
Successes Commissions
The refugee committee- helped return refugees after WW1 (helped 1,5 million)
The slavery commission- worked to abolish slavery, freed 200,000 slaves
The health committee (1923)- tried to help with health and disease, banned lead paint, tried to abolish mosquitoes led campaign to prevent typhus and prevent addicts
Failures Commissions
Disarmament Conference (1932) Mandates commission- only one colony achieved independence
Successes 1920s
Aaland Islands (1921) Upper Silesia (1921) Greece-Bulgaria (1925)
Failures 1920s
Liberia Vilna (1920) Ruhr (1923) Corfu (1923) Geneva Protocol (1924)
Effects of the Depression
USA- unwilling to give loans and refused to support sanctions that would hurt their economy
Germany- had to pay reparations alone, less trade, unemployment, people more willing to listen to the Nazi’s
France- built defence line ‘The Maginot Line’ against Germany
Italy- invaded Abyssinia to combat economic problems
Japan- Invaded Manchuria to combat economic problems
Britain- worried about domestic problems so unwilling to get involved in international issues.
Manchuria
- Japan invaded Manchuria
- Lytton report condemns Japan 1 year later
- Japan leaves LoN
- Japan invaded Jehol
Why did Japan invade Manchuria?
Chinese sabotaged South- Manchurian railway owned by Japanese
The area was rich in minerals and land for agriculture
To combat effects of the depression
Wanted to look strong for other countries
Growing Japanese population
Why did the League fail in Manchuria?
Self-interest of members- Britain worried about damaging their trade routes
Structural weaknesses- didn’t have USSR or USA to pressure Japan, it took them a year to get the Lytton report
Fear of War- Japan was militarily powerful, league lacked army to defeat them
Depression- didn’t want to impose sanctions that would harm their economy
Why did disarmament fail?
Effects of Depression
Britain allowed Germany to build ships up to 35% of Royal Navy
Rise in extremist Parties (eg. Mussolini)
Failure of LoN- no enforcer
Everyone was scared the other wasn’t going to disarm
Worried about alliances
Abyssinia
Italy had lost to Abyssinia before (humiliating)
Wal-Wal (excuse)
Stressa Pact (promised to fight Germany with Italy)
Britain and France offered part of Abyssinia
LoN bans arm sales to Italy (too late)
Closed the Suez Canal (LoN)
Useless without Sanctions from USA
Hoare-Laval Pact –> leaked
US increases oil sales to Italy
LoN gave up
Wal-Wal
Clash between Ethiopian and Italian forces
External agreements that helped the League
The Washington conference (1921)
The Dawes Plan (1924)
Locarno Treaties (1925)
The Kellog-Briand Pact (1928)
Why were the British and French reluctant to take action over Abyssinia
They wanted Mussolini as an ally against Hitler
Feared loss of jobs because of sanctions
Wanted to avoid another war
Russia (communism) was a growing problem
Kellog-Briand Pact
65 nations agreed that peaceful negotiations would settle disputes
Led by Britain and France foreign ministers
Washington Conference
1921 5 power treaty France, Britain, USA Agreed to limit size of navy to each other 10 000 tons each
Assembly
Central component Admitted new members Discussed Agenda Financed budget Decisions had to be unanimous Only met once a year
Council
Settled disputes between members Permanent members: Japan, Britain, France, Italy Veto power (only permanent members) Other members voted in by assembly Germany permanent member 1926 5 times a year
Why did Mussolini invade Abyssinia?
To achieve Fascist aims
Because of Depression
Knew Britain and France wouldn’t oppose him (needed him)
For Revenge
Consequences of Abyssinia
Mussolini turned to Hitler
League of Nations was dead
Encouraged Germany to expand
Why did LoN fail?
Self interest of members Decisions were slow Depression Ineffective sanctions Lack of new superpowers Treaty of Versailles
The Permanent Court of International Justice
Settled international disputed (border)
Based in The Hague, Netherlands
Gave legal advice to the council & the assembly
No way of making sure countries followed the rules
The Secretariat
Civil service
Kept records of League meetings
Prepared reports for different agencies of the league
Section in secretariat covers: health, disarmament, economic matters
The International Labour Organisation
Once a year
Aim was to improve working conditions
Tried to persuade countries to adopt suggestions
The Mandates Commission
Specialists report on way colonies under Britain and France were being treated
Made sure Britain and France were acting in the interest of the colonies not their own
The Refugee Committee
Tried to get refugees back to their own countries
The Slavery Commission
Worked to abolish slavery
Some workers were treated like slaves but were not actually slaves
The Health Committee
Developed programs to deal with dangerous diseases
Educate the world about health and sanitation
Collected statistics about health issues
